[chadbang]

I was a concert photographer when I was in high school through college. Worked with WSAN in Allentown, PA. I got to sit in the front row through two AC/DC shows ... two days in a row. It must have been 1977 or 78. I had never heard of AC/DC, most people hadn't. My jaw dropped and I grinned like a fool. They were crazy. Angus running, throwing himself backwards onto the floor flat on his back. Bon Scott carrying Angus on this shoulders running through the crowd of 400 (the theater was a converted movie theater). I'd never seen such madness and energy in my life. And the music was great! When ever i hear "Live Wire" I am immediately filled with memories of those two amazing shows.

 

[acidbasement]

I've been lazily wanting to see Springsteen for awhile, and you guys are convincing me that I should seek him out a bit more actively.

I go to as many live shows as I can, and my list of top concerts keeps getting longer. Here are my top three.

1. Chris Thile, "solo" acoustic set at the tiny Sheridan Opera House at the end of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, 2006. For a solo show, he sure was not alone onstage much. Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Steve Page and Ed Robertson from Barenaked Ladies, and his bandmates from Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers all took their turns onstage, along with many other people that I'm forgetting. The highlight for me was a spontaneous cover of Wham's "Careless Whispers", sung by Steve Page and Ed Robertson. I think they stopped playing around 3 am. I really don't expect anything ever to top this show.

2. Michelle Shocked played Winnipeg in 2001 with her group the Perverse All-Stars. They take second prize for me, because their show was full-on intense and they worked soooo dang hard.

3. Gamma Ray in Minneapolis in 2006. They have the best approach to playing live of any metal band I know - they are super dramatic to the point of being cheesy, but it's done with a sense of humour, and thankfully they don't use any pre-recorded backing tracks (why do so many metal bands use them?). I think they smile onstage more than any other metal band as well. Kai Hansen must be getting old, but he can still hit those high notes cleanly, and for that matter all the musicianship is virtuostic. If there were one band that I could follow around on a tour, it would be Gamma Ray.

Honourable mention goes to Sam Bush for making me realize my passion for progressive bluegrass at the 2002 Winnipeg Folk Festival, and for playing an amazing 3.5 hour set to close the 30th Telluride Bluegrass Festival the following year.

Also, in no particular order but still deserving of mention in the 'greatest of all-time' category:

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Apocalyptica
Therion
Telluride Bluegrass Festival House Band
Blind Guardian
Turisas
Shooglenifty (only late at night in a small room)

 

[wuwhere]

My first live concert, KISS, at Chicago Stadium. I was sitting on the Mezzanine on the right just above the stage. I can't forget those masked men and the drummer's solo.

 

[wuwhere]

And Ted Nugent, the loudest guitar player I have ever heard. I was covering my ears to protect my ear drums.

 

[DLeeWebb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fzsrv /img/forum/go_quote.gif Saw Zeppelin and they were good. Saw Pink Floyd (Animals Tour) and they were great. The differance between the two was that Pink Floyd came out and put on a show visually and musically. Including flying pigs! Zeppelin came out and ROCKED the house! The show was good but was lacking visually.

I saw Pink Floyd on the "Animals" tour and on the "The Wall" tour. Both of those concerts beat the times that I saw Led Zeppelin, which included the "Physical Graffiti" and the "Presence" tours. They were all great concerts. I would definitely put U2's "Zoo TV" tour in that class. I was super-impressed this summer with Radiohead's "In Rainbows" tour. If I gave this a lot of thought I would probably continue to extend the list...

 

[Radioheadache]

I haven't seen tons of live acts, but my greatest act ever would have to be Radiohead.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuwhere /img/forum/go_quote.gif And Ted Nugent, the loudest guitar player I have ever heard. I was covering my ears to protect my ear drums.

I was actually close enough to see Ted perform at Caljam II. They had to fly him out after hyperventilating and passing out on stage.

Skynyrd was way too loud as well.

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was actually close enough to see Ted perform at Caljam II. They had to fly him out after hyperventilating and passing out on stage. Skynyrd was way too loud as well.

I was there when UFO recorded their live album at Chicago Stadium, 'Strangers In The Night'.

 

[monolith]

Best live acts I've ever seen are Queens of the Stone Age and Sunn O))).